Mio was woken by the sunlight peaking through the cracks in her cave. Her back ached with the rocks and her hair was rife with knots. She missed the silk kimono and ornate combs she had lived her whole life in. The clothes she now wore had been stolen off the fresh corpse of a pirate and were just a bit too tight, but she was in Tortuga now, and if she had any chance of going back home she would need to fit in. The only thing she kept on her from that old life was the silver knife,blade carved with the Eastern for “Death”.

She crawled into the light and set her plan into action, striding into the nearest brothel and paying three doubloons for a tank of ale and the lowest wench they could offer. Neither the inkeep nor the madame was not surprised: this, after all, was Tortuga, City of the Free; or the Damned, depending on your social circle.

The woman came in, young but not easy on the eye.

“What’s your name?” Mio asked.

“Elizabeth. Call me Liz.”